The Great Commission

By Frank Haegler

Every Home for Christ (EHC) is a missionary organisation that has been 'taking the Gospel' throughout the world door to door by means of Gospel Literature. Rather than have missionaries from Western countries going to Third World countries and spreading the message, EHC uses the natives of any given area to reach their own people.

For 53 years they have been using this system and state that 'more than 26 million people have come to Christ or requested more information.' Dick Eastman, the International President of EHC, says their goal is to reach every home on earth with the Gospel. When that has been completed the task of global evangelism will be finished and Christ will return for His bride.

Of course EHC, and many other missionary organisations see themselves as helping to fulfil the Great Commission as spoken by Christ in Matthew 28:19 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost".

To take the words of Christ literally and to do one's best to obey them is indeed a noble thing. Nothing wrong could be said about individuals who have taken these words and acted upon them, often to their discomfort or even peril. Some have given up homes, jobs, family, many comforts and yes, sometimes even their lives.

In times past I have been told that I would make a 'good missionary' but I never felt 'called' to the mission field. More than that there has been a disquiet inside when I think of those that have chosen this path, mostly with good intentions, but often to the detriment of their families.

Is it our job to take the message of Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth? Will Christ return even if everyone on earth doesn't hear, the thought then must be that if they don't hear the Lord won't (can't) return. The Lord's return is not dependent upon us, surely.

When people quote the verse above I think they forget some of the other verses in Matthew that the Lord spoke. Ones like Matt. 10: 5b - 7 "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand". Or the Canaanite woman to whom the Lord said "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24).

The Great Commission also comes after many parables and much teaching on the coming kingdom, a kingdom that was linked to Israel. This kingdom needed a King and this was to be the Lord Jesus, of course.

We know that the majority of Israel rejected the King. They crucified Him and even through the re-offer of the kingdom throughout the Acts period they continued to reject the message. Had Israel repented the kingdom would have come then and there (Acts 3:19).

So what about those who have never heard the gospel?

Stuart Allen deals with this in his book on Romans and Galatians: "Furthermore we are assured in Scripture that the righteous Judge of all is able to do what no human judge can do, that is, He assesses what an individual would have done if his circumstances had been different. " ("The Galatian and Roman Epistles of Paul" p.65).

This site is produced by the Berean Bible Fellowship of Australia (BBFA)
Contact our web administrator at webmaster@spiritualblessings.org

| Privacy | | About | | Articles | | Books | | Top | | Magazine | | Meetings | | Donate | | Contact | | Links |